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Thanks for your post and it's always nice to meet another Shostakovich fan.  I could talk about Shostakovich all day because there's such a rich history there and there are so many performances of his music available to the public. Ah, yes, the 5th and 10th Symphonies are generally regarded as Shostakovich's most popular symphonies as is Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad." In addition to these symphonies, I like the 4th, 6th, 8th, 11th (aka The Year 1905), 13th, and the 15th. I think these symphonies are just as fine as the 5th and 10th IMHO. I also love Shostakovich's concerti. He wrote six in all. The one that hits me the most is Violin Concerto No. 1 which the third movement Passacaglia never fails but to bring a tear to my eye.

For me, the best Symphony No. 5 on record is Leonard Bernstein's 1979 performance with the New York Philharmonic. His 1959 seems to get more press for some strange reason, but I find there's much more depth in this 1979 performance. This symphony is so hard to get right, but Bernstein really nails it, especially the Largo section where pours all the emotion he can muster into it. That timpani roll at that first climax gives me goosebumps every time I heard it because not many conductors get this timpani roll right. In other words, it isn't audible like it should be. We should feel the Earth shake at this climax!

Anyway, it's a pleasure meeting you. 

I'm not big into older classical recordings and when I say older I mean mono. Mravinsky's recordings always sounded terrible to me, but one can't deny he had a passion for the music, especially since he premiered so much of it. As for the 10th, a favorite performance remains Simon Rattle's with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Another favorite 10 is Petrenko's with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. I really hope he completes his symphony cycle. I own nine Shostakovich symphony cycles. I haven't heard Toscanini's Shostakovich performances, but, again, I don't like mono recordings. Sanderling was a great Shostakovich conductor. His 15th with the Cleveland Orchestra is highly acclaimed, but I really enjoy his performances with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra on the Berlin Classics label. Bernard Haitink is another highly acclaimed Shostakovich conductor, but his cycle, as with any cycle, has some dead spots most notably his performance of the 5th, but his 8th is still one I continue to come back to time and time again. He nails the sinister, serious mood of this symphony. I should have also mentioned I like Shostakovich's ballets The Bolt and The Golden Age (aka The Age of Gold). These two ballets seem to not garner much attention and I find this unfortunate as they're great. Of course, Prokofiev and Stravinsky were kings of the Russian ballet in the 20th Century, but you should definitely check these two works out (if you haven't already). A recent symphony cycle that I've been really enjoying of Shostakovich's symphonies is Oleg Caetani with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi on the Arts label. Quite an expensive set but worth every penny.

I have quite a large classical collection --- maybe around 7,000 recordings. I'm also an old school collector. I want the physical CDs. I don't do the download thing and I'm all the better for it because you get nothing with a download.

 

Steve Hillage - L

Bark Psychosis - Codename: Dustsucker

 

Can't wait to get off of work now!

I already own several WW recordings, but I sampled many of the songs on YouTube and this sounds like their strongest yet. Can't wait to hear it.